Anne Milton, Skills Minister launched the Careers Strategy at the Career Development Institute (CDI) annual conference in Birmingham on December 4 2017.

The Careers Strategy is part of the Government’s plan to make Britain fairer, improve social mobility and offer opportunity to everyone.

The aims of the strategy are that:

All young people understand the full range of opportunities available to them, learn from employers about work and the skills that are valued in the workplace and to have first-hand experience of the workplace;

All young people in secondary school and college get an excellent programme of advice and guidance that is delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience;

Everyone is to get support tailored to their circumstances. All adults should be able to access free face-to-face advice, with more bespoke support for those who most need it;

Everyone gets the information they need to understand the job and career opportunities available, and how their knowledge and skills can help them in considering suitable careers.

Whilst the majority of the strategy will be reliant on stakeholders adopting the recommendations, there are some key aspects which will be statutory requirements:

That schools and colleges should use the Gatsby Benchmarks to improve careers provision – statutory guidance will be published in January 2018;

That from January 2018, the Government will require schools to give providers of technical education, including apprenticeships, the opportunity to talk to pupils about the courses and jobs they offer;

There will be a requirement for Ofsted to comment in college (schools are not cited) inspection reports on the careers guidance provided to students from January 2018.

A new, engaging and inspiring website for the National Careers Service will be developed in 2018, making sure all Government careers information is available in one place.

Within the Strategy, the role of the Careers and Enterprise Company has been significantly strengthened ‘acting as the backbone for co-ordinating all Gatsby Benchmarks’, not just those focused on increasing engagement with employers and the workplace. The Government proposes additional funding in the region of £16m;

£5 million for a new round of the CEC Investment Fund supporting disadvantaged pupils to get the additional support they need to prepare for work

£2 million to test new programmes or expand ones that work, in primary schools, again working with CEC

£5 million for development of ‘careers hubs’ in 20 areas

£4 million to fund the development of new training programmes and support at least 500 schools and colleges in areas of most need to train Careers Leaders

Skills Advisory Panels will also be established and work in partnership with LEPs to produce a rigorous analysis of current and future local skills needs.